A three-under par 69 at Malaysia’s Saujana Country Club gave Belgium’s Thomas Pieters a one-shot lead at the Maybank Championship with two rounds to go. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

BELGIUM’S Thomas Pieters will take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Maybank Championship after the golf course showed its teeth on Friday.

The big-hitting Belgian carded four birdies and a single bogey in his second round at Saujana Golf and Country Club to move to eight-under par.

Pieters said: “I struggled off the tee early on, at the end it was a lot better. It didn’t feel like a good day to me, I made the best of what I had.

“I gave myself a lot of chances but I couldn’t seem to get the ball in the hole.

“I birdied 16, the par three, it was a nice putt. But other than that I felt like I was missing putts all over.

“I tried not to over read the putt on 16. When you miss a couple of putts you try to read to much into it. I just put it down, looked once, and gave it a go.”

Apart from his struggle on the greens, the main talkling point of the week has been about Pieters unusual golf bag – which lacks a sponsor.

Pieters has turned it into an advertisement and revealed: “It was my idea.

“My brother has a creative company, but it was actually my idea. I thought, why not, it’s empty. I thought it was quite funny, and it got picked up this week. I think it was Jamie Gough that tweeted and a few people were talking about it.

“If Eddie Pepperell wants to put his face on it, I will happily take it.”

It had seemed Pieters and his fellow challengers might be fighting for second rather than top spot when overnight co-leader Nacho Elvira opened up a four-stroke lead over the chasing pack early in the afternoon.

But as the wind picked up, the Spaniard dropped three shots in two holes on the back nine to slip to seven-under, where he sits alongside Indonesia’s Danny Masrin in a tie for second place.

Nacho said: “I still feel like I’m playing solid. I struggled a bit on 14, I three-putted on 13. I had a really easy birdie chance then I three putted.

“Fourteen is a really tough hole, everybody knows it. The pin was tucked, I had a hard chip, anyway, double there and then three putted the next hole.

“Overall I’m happy. I’m hitting the ball fine, I’m putting myself in position to find the pins and I’m looking forward to the weekend.

“The tee shots feel like a dream. To be honest I’m picking up a little bit of confidence as the season goes on. I’m happy the way I’m hitting it right now.”

It’s a first appearance at this event – which is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours – for four-time Major winner Ernie Els.

And after a second round 70 he sits at six-under alongside fellow South African Dean Burmester, American pair David Lipsky and Paul Peterson, Jazz Janewattananond, from Thailand, Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer and Australian Lucas Herbert.

Els said: “I think scoring conditions are a bit tougher than last year. I’ve never played here before but from what I’ve heard the guys usually make a lot of birdies.

“With the new greens the ball is releasing a bit and I kind of like that.  The last four years have been a real struggle, so I’m really happy that I’m playing good golf again.

“My body feels good and the ball striking is there now. On the greens I’m starting to feel really comfortable, so that means I can have a chance again to play with these guys.

“That’s what I want, to feel like I can have a chance playing Saturdays and Sundays and that’s kind of my goal.

“I’ve got to keep doing what I’m doing and eliminate the little mistakes.

“The one on 17 wasn’t very good. Got to try to get into the 60s and if you’re within three or four going into Sunday you’ve got a chance.

“Shubhankar showed that last year, coming out of the pack and winning.”

German Keiffer said: “I played really good today tee-to-green, hit a couple of wedges really close. I even had a few mid-range putts that just burned the edges, so really good.

“I played well here last year, played OK two years ago. You don’t need to be really straight off the tee but if you hit a wild one then it’s gone so that kind of suits me.

“The wind direction suits me better than last year because I can’t quite reach the par fives this year. The wedge game was very good today, so that was the key.

“I’m very happy with the way I’m playing. Since I started working with my new coach (Ian Holloway) last year, I’ve been steadily getting better.

“Just focus on the process, that’s all you can do, and it’s been working for me.”

•For live scoring in the third round of the Maybank Championship click here.

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Shubhankar Sharma is aiming to follow Justin Harding into the World’s top 50 when he defends his title this week. Picture courtesy of Maybank Championship

SHUBHANKAR Sharma is feeling relaxed about his Maybank Championship title defence, as the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year aims to build on a stellar debut season on the European Tour.

The 22 year old burst on to the scene with two early victories on the 2018 Race to Dubai, following up his maiden win at the Joburg Open with his biggest victory yet, coming from four shots back to take the title at Saujana Golf and Country Club.

With two trophies in his cabinet by early February, he cemented his status as Indian golf’s new rising star by playing in all four Major Championships and impressing on his World Golf Championships debut.

He famously lead the world-class WGC-Mexico Championship field by two shots going into the final round before posting an impressive top 10 finish.

Sharma said: “I have some very special memories from last year. It just feels like yesterday that I won here.

“I made that putt on 18 and was waiting in scorers for the rest of the field to finish.  It’s great to come back – it was my biggest win.

“I love the course here. I had a good finish the year before last when I finished top 10.

“I actually just love Malaysia as a country. I love the people and the heat doesn’t get to me, which is good.

“Hopefully I can draw on the good memories and play well this week.

“I definitely feel like I’ve become a better player from last year.

“Obviously I have more experience. I’ve played some of the biggest events in the world, I played in all of the Majors last year.

“In two of those Majors I was actually playing in front of Tiger, so the biggest crowds I have ever seen. It’s good that I’ve seen all of those situations.

“I’m much more relaxed now, but you don’t want to get too relaxed when you are playing. These are some of the best players in the world and you have to be 100 per cent.

“But I’ll definitely be more comfortable than I was last year playing in the marquee group.”

Sharma is joined in the field in this week’s co-sanctioned Maybank Championship by Jazz Janewattananond, another young player – who has impressed on both the European Tour and Asian Tour and has aspirations of challenging the best in the world in the near future.

The 23-year-old Thai claimed his third Asian Tour title at the Singapore Open in January to break into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Jazz said: “I was fortunate to crack the top 100 this soon. It was always in the back of my mind to take the next step and get into the top 50.

“This is going to be a big week, if I can play good this week I have a chance of cracking the top 50 sooner.

“Seeing the likes of Justin Harding is very inspiring. We played a lot together last year. Now that he is in the top 50 he’ll have a better chance of getting into the Masters.

“To see someone close to you do that is very inspiring and it gives you a boost and confidence that you can do it too.

“I’m feeling really good. I had a couple of good finishes coming in to this week. It’s always nice to come back to Malaysia.

“I love this city, I love the skyline, I love the street food here. I’m enjoying myself out here and we’ll try to move that into the golf course as well.”

Janewattananond is aiming for a good finish this week to help propel him towards his next aim of following his friend and recent South Africa’s European Tour winner Justin Harding into the top 50.

Also teeing it up the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur this week are three-time Major winner and current European Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington and his victorious predecessor Thomas Bjørn – as well as American Kurt Kitayama, who has emulated Sharma this year by racing to two European Tour victories in his rookie season.

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